Dispensing unit



June 14, 1960 H. TEBAY 2,940,574

, DISPENSING UNIT Filed Dec. 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR [Film/1d [6 M W M? lmcc,

ATTORNEY? June 14, 1960 H. TEBAY DISPENSING mm 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1956 ATTORNEYS United States Patent DISPENSING UNIT Howard Tebay, Wheeling, W. Va.; Ireta J. Tebay, adminislratrix of said Howard Tebay, deceased Filed Dec. 26, 1956, Ser. No. 630,610

'7 Claims. (Cl. 194-57) This invention relates to dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to means in such apparatus for releasing and locking a product take-out gate, which means are coin controlled.

in one well known type of dispensing apparatus, particularly adapted for dispensing bottled goods, the bottles are manually moved to a take-out position closed by a gate or gates, which, when released, will open as the bottle is lifted to permit the bottle to be removed from the dispenser. Various means have been employed for holding the gates against movement, and for releasing them for movement when desired.

It is the object of the present invention to provide improved gate controlling means which, in turn, is controlled by a coin or coins inserted in the dispenser in pay- ;ment for the goods to be dispensed.

It is an object to provide such means wherein a single coin or combination of coins may be used to release the gate locking means.

Another object is to provide a gate control which can be readily converted to be operative upon the insertion of a different coin or combination of coins.

A still further object is the provision of such means in a unit which may be used to replace the delivery units now being used.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, this specification.

In the drawings:

Fi ure l is a perspective view of a dispensing cabinet with the lid and front open and the dispensing unit and control mechanism therefor in place on the front panel;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan of the cabinet with the top removed;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the dispensing unit, enlarged but similar to the showing of the unit in Figure 1; V

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the dispensing unit viewed from the opposite side;

Figure 5 is a vertical section through one corner of the dispensing unit housing, illustrating the delivery gate mounting and control mechanism therefor, and taken on the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 66 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the gate locking and releasing mechanism;

Figure 8 is a vertical section through the mechanism shown in Figure 7 and is taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is a vertical transverse section through the coin control.

Referring to the drawings indetail, there is shown a dispensing box or cabinet 1, of well known type, such as is used to dispense cooled bottled beverages. The cabiice within the cabinet is divided into a storage compartment 4 and a dispensing unit compartment 5. The storage compartment is provided with a plurality of spaced, parallel, rack bars 6 which serve to form guide channels to receive the necks of bottles 7 and hold them in rows. A passage 8, between the ends of the guide bars and the dispensing unit 9, permits the bottles to be moved out of the rows singly and to the entrance 10 of the delivery chamber 11 of the dispensing unit. The top of the delivery chamber is blocked by a pair of hinged gates 12, and a bottle in the chamber may be removed from the cabinet by lifting upward to swing the gates open. All of the above is conventional, and the present invention is concerned with the dispensing unit.

The dispensing unit consists of a coin control mechanism, the delivery chamber and interconnecting linkage for locking and releasing the outlet gates. The coin control 13 is within a chamber 14 while the delivery chamber 11 is within the refrigerating area. Both the coin control and the delivery chamber are fixed to the front door 15 of the box. The coin control chamber is completely surrounded by an insulating wall 16 which provides the necessary heat barrier between the unit and the storage compartment. The chamber is completed by the insulated back wall 17.

In the coin control chamber, there is a conventional coin reject mechanism 18, connected to the door 15 and positioned beneath a coin slot or slots 19 in the top of the insulating wall 16. Slugs, or coins of improper size, will be rejected by this mechanism in well-known manner and drop out through a suitable reject tube.

When a coin or coins of proper value are put into the unit, they will be directed by the reject mechanism into a coin operated locking device 20, mounted in the coin control chamber directly below the reject mechanism. This device will be locked against movement when no coin is in it, and when a coin or coins or proper value are in place will be free for movement to permit the gates to open as will be described.

The locking device is supported upon a bracket 21, fixed to a holder 22 attached to the door 15, which also supports the reject mechanism 13. The bracket is secured by screws 23 to the base member 24 of the looking device. The central portion of the upper face of the base member is grooved out, as at 25, to form a trackway for the moving parts of the locking device. Angle members 26 are fixed to the upper side edges of the base member and project over the sides of the groove to form channel grooves 27 to guide the moving parts and lock them to the track.

A sliding carriage 28 is mounted in the trackway. The carriage is a casting, longitudinally grooved on either side of the center to provide side walls 29, a central drawbar 30, and the grooves 31 and 32. The draw-bar extends the full length of the carriage and projects forwardly beyond the carriage to provide means for connection to linkage which will be described. The two slots are of different lengths and adapted to receive slugs 33 of difierent sizes to adjust the slot length to that required to receive a coin or coins of selected denomination. The size slugs used will determine the coins necessary to operate the device, as will appear.

The forward ends of the side walls of the carriage are inclined rearwardly, to provide cam surfaces 34 up which locking bars 35 may ride. The inclined ends are provided with notches 36 into which the locking bars will drop, if no coin is in the carriage, and prevent carriage movement. The locking bars are pivotally connected to the angle members 26, as at 37, and have in wardly projecting cam following and locking members 38 at their forward ends. The cam following members net has thick insulated walls 2 and a lid 3. The space ,each overlie one of the slots 31 or 32 between the draw- 1 the locking unit icarriage. L novernent the pin will move in reverse alongthe slot, the carriage being returned by spring 56.." Pin' 50 'strikslotgth'e locking bars will be left free to operate independently so that coins will have to be present in both slots to cause both locking bars to lift to -free-the carrlage.

It will be noted that the sides of the draw bar are inclmed toward one another, and the inner faces of the spacers are inclined in the same area. This will provide entrance throats to lead coins to the slots.

The movable carriage of the locking device is'con-l nected to the gates 12, to holdthe'gates against opening untilthe proper sum has been put, into the machine.

This is accomplished by'appropria-te linkage connected to the gates, to the locking unit, and to "a pivoted lever plate which coordinates the movement oftlie linkages and transfers movement from one to the other.

J Thelever plate 40 'is pivotally mounted on the "back ofa housing 41 which defines. the delivery chamber. It is to this housing that the gates 12 are pivotally connected. Eachfgfate has pivotally connected to it at '42 one end of a link 43, the other ends of the links being connected 'to a common pivot 44 on the plate 40. The pivots 42 are offset from the pivotal mountings of the 'tgates so that when the gates are raised the levers will be moved downwardly. This will cause the lever plate :to rock downwardly (as viewed in Figure 4) about its' pivot 45. Plate 40 is biased to its upward position by :a spring. 46 and its limits of movement are defined by a pin, 47 projecting from the housing 41 and passing through an arcuate slot 48 in the plate 4%.

. Movement'is transmitted from the'plate 40 to the locking unit by a link 49, pivotally' connected .to the :drawfbar. 30 and having a. pin 50 projecting from the ilink through a slot 51'inthe plate 40. Slot'51 is of dog-leg shape having a reach 52 and'a reach'53. Movement of the pin 50in 'the'slot is controlled by a gov .erning-arm'54, which is connected to'the pin at one:

end and pivotally mounted upon a bracket 55 near the t'opfof'the housing 41; Itwill be obvious that down ward movement of the plate 49 willcau'se the edge of V :the reach, 52 ofslot 51 to :act "as a cam against 'pin 59.1 a

' ,to draw link 49, andthe locking unit sliding carriage forwardly. Pin Edwill be, guided along reach 52 of slot 11'by swinging movement of control arm 54. Pin

; 5Q will reach the juncture of the tworeachesof the slot after carriage 28 has-moved far enough toejcct ,tlfre coin or coins controlling it, ;as 'Wlll be ,described. The remainder of the moyernentof the plate 40 can be accomplishedwhilepin 50 moves along-the reach 53 1 .of .slot 51 andthere will be no further movement of As the plate reverses its inglthe end of slot fil jwill serve to limit the'return movement of'the carriage 23.

In order to ensure carnage Z8making its full movement sothat the coin or coins will be dropped, thus eliminating the" possibility of more than one bottle beingtdispensed without inserting'extra coins, the plate is required to l lf greateramplitude of movement than that ac- V .ti ally required, 'Ihis is accomplished by'providing a -.pluralityjof teeth'57 along'the edge of platej40'and a .pawlfmember 58 tor contact with the teeth. The pawl con sistsjof a' disk 59, pivotally mounted on the housing 41rand havingapinfih extending from it. Agspring'6l the center of the. disk 59vthan the projected arc of. travel of the bottoms of the spaces between the teeth 57. Thus, when plate 40 begins to move pin 60 will be contacted by the teeth and the disk rotated slightly. The disk will 5 be unable to return to its position of rest while the toothed section of the plate is in engagement with pin 60; Therefore, the'plate will be unable to reverse its movement until the entire-toothed area of the plate has passed beyond the pines" 62; This will permit fliefpintoass'u'rne its' position of alignment with the'two mentioned pivots and the plate movement can be reversed, Once the reverse movement has started, the toothed a'rea 'must again be moved entirely across the, pinbefore -=gat e"opening movement can begin again. V V

"As the gates are moved to open position, the entrance to the delivery compartment is blocked so that another bottle cannot be brought into the chamber. until the gates are closed again. The blocking mechanism consists of two links 63, pivotally connected at their bottoms to the free ends of cranks'64 pivotally mounted -on'the housing 41 at opposite sides'ot the entrance door.

The tops/of the links are connected to arms. 65 fixed to the-gates 1-2. When'the gates are raised, the links swing inwardly toward each other and across the entranceinto the'chaniber. 1 w

. fin using the dispenser the locking device is firstyset to foperate whenthe proper-coin or coins are inserted. To

do this, slugs of proper sizeare positioned in the slots of carriage 28to leave the end of "the slots open to accommodate the desired coin. For example, slugs may be inserted on one side .so that when a nickel is deposited it will drop into the locking device in position to have itsedge block out the notch in the adjacent sidewall. If a dime is to berreceived inthe other side, the slug on that side will leave'a smaller space to the and ofth'e'carriage so that the dime will block out the notch in that'side wall. When the coins are in place, the gates can be lifted, as the locking bars will ride up the ends of the sidewalls permitting the carriage to imove freely in a forward direction. It will 'beobvious that .slugs may be used to size the slots toreceive any "coin or combination of coins. As mentioned'above, bneside'only may be used'to receive arcoin, whereupon thejtwo locking arms will be" joined together, As the --carriage moves forward and thelocking bars lift, the

' coins will be free to dropout intoany suitable receptacle. While in the above one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, itwill be understood that 59 5 the precise structural details described and shown are -merely;-for purposes of illustration and the invention may .take other forms within the'scope of the appended claims.

What isclaimed is: V 1 1" '1. In a dispensing unit' for bottled beverages of the type having an outlet through which bottles may bereotally mounted gates normally blocking the outlet, a coin controlled mech'anismnormally holding the gates against 0: opening movement, a' sliding carriage forming partof the :coin controlled mechanism and releasable for sliding *ota'lly conn'ected to the unit, links pivotally' connected to the gates and the lever, and a'draw-bar link pivotally'coni'necte'd' to the sliding carriage and the lever; the connection between the draw-bar link and the lever having means providing for lost motion so that the lever may continue -rocking movement about its pivotal connection to the unit after the-sliding carriage has reached its limit of omovementni v a j 2. Ina dispensing unit for bottled beverages as'claimed in-claim '1,,means to prevent reverse movement of said lever afterfrnovementlhas-been instituted in one direction until full movementin said one direction has been com- 152pleted. .i. a

e pin 'drops into the recess moved, the improvement which consists in a pair of pivmovement by insertion of the, proper coins, a lever piv- 3. In a dispensing unit for bottled beverages as claimed in claim 1, the connection between the lever and the drawbar link including said lever having a slot with a cam portion therein, a pin projecting from the end of the drawbar link to ride in the slot whereby rocking of the lever through the camming action of the slot on the pin will move the draw-bar link to slide the carriage, said slot having a lost motion portion so positioned that the lever may rock without imparting movement to the draw-bar link, the cam and lost motion portions of the slot having relative positions such that the pin will be in the cam portion at the outset of the opening movement of the gates and in the lost-motion portion after the slide has reached its limit of movement and the gates are in the final stage of opening movement.

4. In a dispensing unit for bottled beverages as claimed in claim 3, means to prevent reverse movement of said lever after movement has been instituted in one direction until full movement in said one direction has been completed.

5. In a dispensing unit for bottled beverages as claimed in claim 3, an additional link pivotally connected to said unit and to the draw-bar link adjacent the pin to support the pin end of the draw-bar link when it is in the lost motion portion of the slot.

6. Control means for a dispensing unit for bottled beverages of the type having a delivery chamber with an entrance for bottles to be dispensed and an outlet for bottles comprising, gates normally blocking said outlet and pivotally connected to said unit, a lever plate pivotally connected to the unit, links connected to the gates ofiset from the pivotal connections thereof and to the lever plate at a common point ofiset from the pivot of the plate whereby movement of the gates will move the plate, a sliding carriage normally locked against sliding movement but releasable for sliding by insertion of a proper coin, a link connecting said carriage to the plate whereby the carriage controls movement of the lever plate, and means included in the connection between the plate and the link from said carriage to permit the plate to move after the carriage has reached its limit of movement.

7. In control means for a dispensing unit as claimed in claim 6, means to prevent reverse movement of said lever after movement has been instituted in one direction until full movement in said one direction has been com pleted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 397,297 Leavitt Feb. 5, 1889 967,725 Carnell Aug. 16, 1910 1,146,018 Patterson July 13, 1915 1,708,741 Rowe Apr. 9, 1929 2,085,153 Gorretta June 29, 1937 2,088,856 Heiland Aug. 3, 1937 2,305,348 King Dec. 15, 1942 2,330,153 Steiner Sept. 21, 1943 2,777,605 Watlington Jan. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 333,375 Great Britain of 1930 

